Need help with choosing a boat

Hi Everyone,

Since my last post. I have trolled for various Dinghy's that can carry up to 6 people. My budget was around the 15-16k mark but was told that may not be realistic. I found this boat on Gumtree and was wondering if it was worth the money or not. Is this boat to old? will it need more money spent on it? This is where I need advice badly or some links to see other particular boats I should be looking at. Honestly sitting in front of a computer monitor is no fun for the eyes at the end deciding on nothing because of my lack of knowledge. The reason I was talking about 6 people was because the relatives will be over later in the year and I wanted to take them to a few spots in that 2-3 weeks they are here. After that the boat would at most have 3 people on it. So I throw this post open to all who would like to help. I look forward to hearing from you soon. My link for the boat is as follows

http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/thornlie/motorboats-powerboats/leeder-710-23-ft-a1-condition-don-t-pay-30-k-or-40-k-/1045484759?utm_source=criteo&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=ActivePlus-boats&mpch=ads

Cheers

Kim

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Kim


Broady's picture

Posts: 131

Date Joined: 16/01/13

With Respect

Sat, 2014-06-07 17:20

Personally I'm not sure this is a good first boat choice.  It's a big boat which will be a handful launching and retrieving if you've never done it before.  Suspect towing weight would be up there to.  The Mercruiser inboard outboard will be an expensive thing to maintain even with the love and attention it's claimed to have received.  Check insurance too. Older fiberglass hulls attract a premium I believe. 

Learnt a long time ago that having a boat is like having your own hole in the ocean to funnel money into, the bigger the hole...

My opinion only.  On my third boat and took me that long to get it "half" right.

milsey's picture

Posts: 1462

Date Joined: 22/08/07

 That boat has the potential

Sat, 2014-06-07 17:49

 That boat has the potential to cost ALOT in repairs, servicing and maintaining and going by your budget probably isnt the smartest option. I would be looking for a 5-6m Ali with a newish 4st outboard if this is your first boat. The merc inboards dont have the greatest rep.

To put you on the right track id be looking for something like the following 

http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/geraldton-6530/motorboats-powerboats/6m-ali-boat-115hp-outboard/1038093310

 
I'm not mercs biggest fan but this is also a much better option than the leeder if you are set on carrying 6 people.
 
big blue's picture

Posts: 57

Date Joined: 25/03/10

hey Kim ... not to burst your

Sat, 2014-06-07 17:51

hey Kim ... not to burst your bubble, but I think you may be putting the cart before the horse a bit !!
maybe look at something like this as a first time boat owner
have to agree with the other old mates

http://www.boatsales.com.au/boats-for-sale/boatdetails.aspx?R=23975069&Silo=Stock&Vertical=Boat&Ridx=1&eapi=2

great boats for first timers , always hold there value easy to handle,tow, store ....
better to spend a little more on purchase than spend it on a fixer-upper that will spend more time at the mechanics or fibreglassers for repairs than on the water

believe me ... BOAT means Bring Out Another Thousand

Posts: 5739

Date Joined: 18/01/12

I've come to learn it actually

Sat, 2014-06-07 19:33

I've come to learn it actually stands for Bend Over And Takeit

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 Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...

 

 

The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.

Everyone's just winging it.

 

Cruise Control's picture

Posts: 970

Date Joined: 03/11/10

 LOL . .  .I find the

Sun, 2014-06-08 10:38

 LOL . .  .I find the smallest denomination in boat dollars is $500 !

big blue's picture

Posts: 57

Date Joined: 25/03/10

if the boat is bigger I think

Sun, 2014-06-08 19:35

if the boat is bigger I think it means Bring Out Another Ten Thousand..... too true

RobertMc's picture

Posts: 326

Date Joined: 19/01/09

 There's a few nice Ali boats

Sat, 2014-06-07 18:16

 There's a few nice Ali boats with those links there

OLD BANGA's picture

Posts: 267

Date Joined: 02/04/10

First boat

Sat, 2014-06-07 18:17

http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/australind/motorboats-powerboats/560-quintrex-classic-90hp-motor-trailer-epirb-fish-finder/1047142782?utm_source=criteo&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Active-boats&mpch=ads

Might be also worth a look, closer to your price range.

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OLD BANGA

mart's picture

Posts: 19

Date Joined: 06/06/12

boat for sale

Sat, 2014-06-07 18:40

Hi Kim,  are you still looking for a boat, i hav a 20" fiber glass Bertram that i am seriously thinking of selling soon.

Cheers.

Mart

 

JustGoneFishing's picture

Posts: 27

Date Joined: 29/03/14

They are really nice boats guys!

Sat, 2014-06-07 19:12

Hi Guys!

Many thanks for those links! They look like really nice boats that you have all found for me as options to consider. Must ask though. Will the ongoing costs to run them be expensive to keep up with and will I find it hard to manage any of these on my own if I had to?

Hi Mart,

Can you send some pics to me of your boat and some history on it thanks mate?

Cheers

Kim

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Kim

Posts: 6265

Date Joined: 26/04/14

 broady and big blue nailed

Sat, 2014-06-07 19:17

 broady and big blue nailed it BOAT = bring out another thousand and they are a open pit to throw money into

Brock O's picture

Posts: 3160

Date Joined: 11/01/08

Hi Kim

Sun, 2014-06-08 13:23

 

 Handling these boats on your own is fairly easy but this comes with practice, i recon up to the 6m mark on your own but some would say more with experiance.

 Money! most of these with an outboard would be a preferred option being a first boat, the last one i owned the motor only need a service every 100hrs, so this could be every 6 months to a year depending on use, and at a cost from $400 to $500...this may vary.

 The other cost such as licensing, rego, insurance and tickets are yearly so dont hurt too much, a day out depending on distance in fuel could be between $50 to $100, plus sinkers, rigs.....Ice...bait...2 stk oil...etc..Storage unless you have room out the front..

 Some times you get other small / medium costs....wheel bearings might go..break somthing.

 Always look for something that has all the safety gear, flares in date, hopefully serviced with good rego, tyres in good condition etc. This will see you off to a good start before needing to spend more coin.

Been looking myself with boats around 5.8 to 6.5m at a cost 10 to 15K..but they all need work and money spent....to get something as mentioned above you will need to spend 15 to 20K. The more you look before buying the better, this will give you an idea of what your looking for and what price is required.

Brock

big blue's picture

Posts: 57

Date Joined: 25/03/10

ongoing costs

Sun, 2014-06-08 19:48

Kim .... mate this all depends on the depth of your pockets & the length of your arms!
general maintenance & misc like licence & insurance etc are generally not too bad .... once you get the boating-bug the sky is the limit for gadgets & baubels for even the smaiiest boats... not to mention tackle & such like
if you can manage some repairs yourself you'll save big, if not find a marine mechanic you can trust, few good ones been recommended in previous posts here

one word of warning get it thoroughly checked before you part with any coin including the trailer... lots of people overlook this essential bit of the equation & can be very costly to repair or replace, again some in depth posts on FW forums

Posts: 791

Date Joined: 05/12/09

 Maybe an ocean whaler may be

Mon, 2014-06-09 08:53

 Maybe an ocean whaler may be an option... A touch more than your budget but excellent boats!

i have the smaller Westerncraft whaler which is a fantastic little tub but wished I had bitten the bullet and bought the bigger ocean whaler!